Netherlands vs Bulgaria Match Prediction

By Marius Hrebenciuc

Bulgaria will be looking to continue their good run of form in the World Cup qualifying group A when they travel to the Amsterdam ArenA to take on the Netherlands on Sunday afternoon. The Netherlands were thrashed 4-0 by France on Thursday, in a game in which the Dutch delivered just one shot on target. Meanwhile, Bulgaria won 3-2 at home over Sweden thanks to goals from Stanislav Manolev, Georgi Kostadinov, and Ivaylo Chochev. Below we have our betting tips, predictions, team news and match stats all in our SBAT preview.

Betting Predictions and Tips

Netherlands are huge favourites to win here despite their poor recent performance, but I think that Bulgaria have enough quality within their squad to secure a positive result here or at least to cover the handicap. Actually, Bulgaria have won the last two meetings with the Netherlands, scoring two goals in each of these.

Slovenia

Norway

Cyprus

Norway

FT 1 - 0

(HT 1 - 0)

D
A

16-11-2018

UEFA Nations League C Grp. 3

Cyprus

FT 1 - 1

(HT 1 - 0)

D
H

19-11-2018

UEFA Nations League C Grp. 3

Slovenia

FT 1 - 1

(HT 0 - 0)

Netherlands Preview

The Netherlands’ three-game winning streak across all competitions ended on Thursday as they suffered a humiliating 4-0 defeat at the hands of France. Dick Advocaat’s men looked terrible in front of goal as they only delivered a single shot on target despite the fact that they had quality players up front in the shape of Arjen Robben, Wesley Sneijder, Robin van Persie and Vincent Janssen. The Dutch missed out on the Euro 2016 in France last summer, and they are now in danger of missing the World Cup 2018 as well. The Netherlands currently sit only in 4th spot in the group A table with ten points under their belts after seven rounds, two points behind their Sunday’s opponents and six points adrift of the current leaders France. They have looked a bit better on home soil over the past months, having lost just once in their last four home fixtures across all competitions while beating Luxembourg 5-0 in their most recent home qualifier. Actually, the Dutch have scored ten goals and conceded none in their most recent two home games across all competitions. Head-to-head, Holland have lost their last two meetings with Bulgaria across all competitions, conceding two goals in each of these. Quincy Promes has been Holland’s most dangerous player in front of goal throughout this campaign, helping the team with three goals in his six appearances.

Netherlands Team News

Kevin Strootman is missing through suspension ahead of this game, as he picked up two yellow cards on Thursday night against France.

Bulgaria Preview

After a disappointing 2-1 defeat on the road at Belarus in June, Bulgaria bounced back with an impressive 3-2 home win over Sweden on Thursday night. The Bulgarians had a one-goal lead twice in the first half, but the visitors levelled the game each time and both sides had to settle for a 2-2 draw at halftime. Bulgaria started the second half in a similar manner and managed to score the winner with ten minutes to go, with Ivaylo Chochev scoring the goal from outside the box. Bulgaria have enjoyed a strong run of form recently, having won three of their last four qualifiers. They find themselves third in the standings with twelve points after seven rounds, just one point off second-placed Sweden. Conceding has been Bulgaria’s main issue throughout this campaign, as they have the second worst defensive record in the group with 14 goals conceded in seven games. Their recent away form has also let them down as Bulgaria have suffered defeats in each of their last five away games across all competitions, conceding at least two goals in each of these. The good news is that Bulgaria picked up a 1-2 win in their most recent trip to the Netherlands. Ivelin Popov, Georgi Kostadinov, and Spas Delev have been Bulgaria’s most prolific players in the final third throughout this qualifying campaign, having scored two goals each.

Bulgaria Team News

Bulgaria have no fresh injury concerns ahead of this tie and I’m expecting a similar lineup with the one used against Sweden.